Nephropathy in Dogs Induced by Treatment with Antiserum against Renal Basement Membrane

Abstract

The dogs having received intravenously or intraperitoneally rabbit antiserum to renal tubular basement membrane (TBM) or glomerular basement membrane (GBM) developed hematuria and proteinuria. Pathologically observed were focal and/or diffuse interstitial mononuclear infiltration with tubular degenerative changes in the renal cortex and generalized proliferative glomerulonephritis. Interstitial and glomerular lesions were not consistently correlated in intensity. By electron microscopy, mononuclear cells were occasionally in close contact with TBM, and some of them invaded the space between the tubular epithelial cells in the cortex. A continuous linear pattern of rabbit IgG was seen on GBM in all cases treated with both antisera, whereas a discontinuous linear pattern was observed on cortical TBM of a single case by immunofluorescence. In the dogs immunized with canine TBM, neither renal lesions nor autoantibodies against homologous renal tissues were produced.